


Keystone Days

by Windona



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 10:14:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13164804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windona/pseuds/Windona
Summary: Wally West had just wanted to get his mother a gallon of milk.Or:Wally and Eddie both lived in Keystone before they appeared on the show, so clearly they must have met.





	Keystone Days

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to @parvumautomaton for betaing!

Wally had been sitting at the kitchen table, doing his homework, when his mom said, “Baby, could you get some milk?”

Pausing, Wally looked up at his mom and the carton on the counter that was practically empty. She had dug up a five dollar bill out of her wallet, and was holding it out to him. It was eight at night, and not a perfect neighborhood, but Wally also knew his mother needed her nightly milk to calm her stomach and help her sleep. “Sure thing, mom.”

With that, he wrapped himself in a coat and headed out the door of his modest townhouse. As much as he’d like the excuse to drive, the corner store three blocks down was a bit to close for him to test out the car he’d been fixing up. He walked through the chilled October air, ignoring the cops headed to their car and the woman walking her dog.

The bell rang as he walked in and waved at the cashier, Rayma. He walked over to the fridge, barely noting the bell ringing again as he checked over expiration dates on the gallons of milk. He selected one that would remain good for two weeks, and nearly dropped it as he looked over at Rayma.

A man in a burly black winter coat and ski mask was pointing a gun at Rayma, and she was tensely taking money out of the cash register.

The man turned his head, eyes widening beneath the mask. On instinct, Wally dove behind a shelf as the gun went off.

Terrified, Wally looked up to notice a hole in the wall above him. He took some comfort in the fact that it meant Rayma wasn’t hurt.

Glancing over at the cashier, though, he saw she was terrified and trembling. It didn’t help that the robber had swung his gun to point towards her.

“Come out here, kid, and nobody gets hurt. I just want to take my money and go,” the robber said, eyes surveying the store. The robber soon realized that Wally was the only other person there.

Wally nodded, and slowly stood up with his hands raised. He carefully made his way towards Rayma under the robber’s watchful eyes, and tried to reassure her with a smile as he stood next to her. The robber gestured with his gun again, and Rayma trembled as she took out the rest of the money from the till.

Glancing at Rayma, he saw something through the window behind her. The two cops he had seen earlier, probably drawn by the gunshot, were approaching the door. The door with a bell that would alert the on edge robber.

Maybe it was stupid, but he wanted to make sure Rayma was ok and that the blonde cop pressing on the door pane would succeed. So he said, “Hey man, you promise to let us go when this is over?”

The robber rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I said that. Now stop talking!”

Ironically, the robber’s shout covered the sound of the bell ringing.

The blonde cop pointed his gun at the robber, shouting, “Freeze! And drop your weapon!”

The robber turned around with a snarl and pointed his gun at the cop with a clear intent to shoot. On instinct, Wally jumped on top of the robber. The robber’s arms jerked up, causing the gun to go off as it was pointed towards the ceiling. The recoil caused the robber to drop the gun, and he elbowed Wally off him.

The robber dashed to the door, only for the blonde cop’s partner to arrive and block the exit. A haymaker later, and the robber was on the ground with his arms being pulled behind his back and handcuffs slapped on his wrists.

The blonde cop, for his part, offered a hand to help Wally up. Wally accepted gracefully, leaning his head back to deal with the oncoming nosebleed. Seeing this, the cop looked over to Rayma and asked for a tissue.

Wally accepted it gracefully, dealing with his bloody nose as the cop talked in a soft baritone voice to Rayma, making sure she was alright and calming her down. Her shaking decreased as she took deep breaths as the cop instructed.

“You ok Rayma?” The question was more for reassurance than anything, but it had its effect as well. The cashier looked close to normal, so Wally ventured for his next question. “Hey, I know it’s been crazy, but I promised to buy my mom some milk, so do you mind if I still do that?”

She laughed. “Sure, you did save my life after all. In fact, take two, and don’t worry about the payment.”

The blonde cop shook his head with a smile. “Go ahead, I’ll get your statement after Rayma’s.”

Wally grinned, and went to the fridge. In all the excitement, he had dropped the gallon he was carrying earlier and it had spilled all over the floor. “Um, think I might need a mop,” he said as he brought his two gallons up to the counter.

Rayma waved him off. “I’ve got it. I think I can close up by myself easily, then I’ll stick around if the cops need me. If, uh, that’s okay with you Detective Thawne?”

The blonde cop nodded, and Wally finally noticed his name tag. Huh, so that’s who he was. “Sure. I’ll need both of your contact information in case this goes to trial, and security footage for evidence. But your statements will do for now, and since you’ve already given yours we won’t need much more. Other cops will be on their way here.”

Sure enough, there were two other cop cars parked in front of the store by the time Detective Thawne had finished getting Wally’s statement.

“I’m gonna give this punk over to one of the other cars while you lollygag, alright?” Detective Thawne’s partner said. Something in that man’s tone made Wally frown.

“Sure, I’m going to make sure these two are alright,” Detective Thawne said, resigned. Turning back to Wally, the detective said, “You know, that was pretty brave of you. Just, uh, don’t jump a guy with a gun next time. You don’t want to get shot being a hero.”

Wally shrugged. Hopefully he wouldn’t be at gunpoint ever again, but he couldn’t promise anything about the future. “If you say so. You were pretty cool too.” Wally then noticed the clock, and how late it was. “Hey, do you mind if I go home? I don’t want my mom to worry.”

Detective Thawne nodded. “Of course. I can walk you home, if you want.”

Wally almost refused, but then thought better of it. “Sure. Just, uh, don’t let my mom know how close I was to getting shot.”

Detective Thawne smiled. “No problem,” he said, holding open the door. The two of them walked down the street, Detective Thawne waving at his fellow cops, them returning it half halfheartedly.

“Not real popular, huh?”

The detective let out a bitter chuckle. “Never have been.”

Wally nodded, letting it slide. It sounded personal, and he knew that there were some things in the past some people would rather not touch.

“But, uh, if you ever find yourself in a situation like tonight again- be careful to not attack anyone with a gun. Though if you do, knock their arm to the side so its pointed away from anyone else.”

Wally laughed. “Don’t think I plan on being robbed, but thanks for the advice. And for what you did tonight- thanks. Rayma and I appreciate it. Even if those other idiots don’t.”

For a moment, Wally wondered if he had gone too far at insulting Detective Thawne’s coworkers. Then the Detective smiled. “I’m just glad nobody was shot tonight. When I heard the gunshot earlier, I thought someone had been killed.”

Wally stepped in front of the door to his little townhouse, and turned to face the detective. “If you hadn’t been there, I’m not sure someone wouldn’t have. The guy had a twitchy finger. Good luck man.” He then reached out his hand.

Detective Thawne took the offered handshake. “Thanks. And good luck to you too.” With that, Wally went inside, never to meet Detective Thawne again.

* * *

 

Two years and a few months later, Wally was standing by his father’s desk, looking at a picture on the wall. His father placed a hand on his shoulder as Wally looked at one face in particular smack dab in the center of the wall.

His dad sighed, staring at the exact same picture. “That’s Eddie. He was my partner and Iris’ fiance. Died on the day the Singularity hit the city.”

Wally nodded. “He was a good cop, wasn’t he.”

His dad nodded. “Yeah. He really was a hero.”


End file.
